the role of ‘high potentials’ in integrating and ...orca.cf.ac.uk/33721/1/article 55.pdf · in...

Running head: THE ROLE OF HIGH POTENTIALS

1

Final article:

Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V., Harness, D., and Hoffmann, M. (2012), “The role of ‘high potentials’

in integrating and implementing corporate social responsibility”, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol.

99, No. 1, pp. 73-91. (ISSN 0167-4544)

For full article, please contact [email protected]

THE ROLE OF ‘HIGH POTENTIALS’ IN INTEGRATING AND IMPLEMENTING

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Adam Lindgreen, University of Cardiff & BEM Bordeaux Management School1

Valérie Swaen, Université catholique de Louvain

David Harness, Hull University Business School

Marieke Hoffmann, Eindhoven University of Technology

1 For all correspondence: Dr. Adam Lindgreen, Professor in Marketing at the University of Cardiff & Research

fellow at BEM Bordeaux Management School. Correspondence address: Professor Adam Lindgreen, Cardiff

Business School, the University of Cardiff, Aberconway Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff CF10 3EU, the U.K. E-

mail: [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]


2

THE ROLE OF ‘HIGH POTENTIALS’ IN INTEGRATING AND IMPLEMENTING

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

ABSTRACT

The Samenleving and Bedrijf (S&B) network of Dutch organizations seeks to embed corporate

social responsibility (CSR) within business practices but faces challenges with regard to how to

do so across various organizational practices, processes, and policies. The integration of CSR

demands cultural change driven by senior management and other change agents, who push CSR

principles throughout the organization. This study examines the change processes that S&B

member organizations have initiated, with a particular focus on the role of high potentials—those

persons who have been selected for the fast track into senior management. Interviews with nine

S&B organizations document their levels of CSR integration and implementation, the role of

senior managers, and the effects of high potentials’ competencies on the realignment process.

High potentials have the ability and opportunity to act as CSR change agents, but organizations’

expectations of their purposes as future senior managers prevented them from doing so. In the

existing organizational cultures, leadership focused on economic success, and the CSR

implementation process had just initiated. Therefore, a measure of CSR embeddedness might

refer to the performance measurement and expectations of high potentials as potential CSR

change agents.

KEYWORDS. Corporate social responsibility; high potentials; change agents; integration;

implementation; case study.


3

Introduction

Becoming oriented toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) requires an organization to alter

its business model to accommodate the principles of CSR. These underpinning principles, as

summarized by Carroll (1979), are balance between profit generation (economic) and good

citizenship (social), without harm to the environment (environmental)—that is, the triple bottom

line framework. Maintaining the economic well-being of the organization is an essential

condition to ensure it can meet social and environmental requirements (Elkington, 1997; SER,

2000). The responsibilities framework (Carroll, 1979; Maignan, 1997) adds two important

constructs: First, society believes an organization is responsible for its actions, so it must gain its

economic objectives without causing to harm to social and environmental factors. Second,

organizations have discretionary responsibility, such that for issues on which society takes no

clear position, they should be responsible for more than the bare minimum of regulatory

requirements. Failure to do so, as the example of Enron shows, represents unethical behavior

(Carroll, 1979). A person’s or organization’s CSR-related values in turn determine

interpretations of discretionary responsibility, which may be broadened by consideration of

various stakeholders, such as employees, owners, and external parties, that influence and are

influenced by the actions of an organization (Vos, 2003). Because economic criteria have

historically dominated business practices and success definitions, the adoption of CSR and its

distinct definitions of business success likely require cultural change in the organization

(Doppelt, 2003; Dunphy et al., 2003; Placet et al., 2005).

The defining principles of CSR as an umbrella concept generally seem well understood and

articulated (e.g., Garriga and Melé, 2004; Joyner and Payne, 2002; Lindgreen et al., 2009; Vos,

2003). Less well understood is how CSR might become embedded within an organization and


4

thereby determine business activities, which is the challenge that currently faces Samenleving

and Bedrijf (S&B). This network of Dutch organizations is aware of CSR but unsure of how to

implement it to achieve full integration. Organizations can achieve integration by ensuring their

policies, practices, and processes are congruent with CSR principles, which in turn may provide

two distinct and linked benefits. First, it mitigates the charge that organizational CSR is nothing

more than marketing communication in response to shifting governmental and social

expectations (Pedersen and Neergaard, 2008) or “window dressing” (Meyer and Rowan, 1977).

Second, by embedding CSR into policies and everyday business practices, the firm reduces the

potential that CSR comes decoupled from decision making when the organization confronts

economic challenges (Weaver et al., 1999).

Both of these outcomes rely on organizational cultural change (Doppelt, 2003; Dunphy et al.,

2003), which can be achieved through positive senior management leadership (Lyon, 2004;

Maon et al., 2009; Werre, 2003) that supports change and pushes CSR principles throughout the

organization (Cramer et al., 2004). Current managers and employees with high potential to

become senior managers in the future (hereafter, high potentials) likely play significant roles in

ensuring that CSR becomes the dominant business agenda that is integrated into all policies,

practices, and processes. According to Randel (2002, p. 70), “although managerial activity must

fall within the parameters of organizational role, managers have many opportunities to make

decisions (discretionary responsibility) and take actions based on their own convictions that

supports socially responsible practice.”

Yet no existing research explores the link between high potentials and CSR implementation

and integration. Therefore, we consider what CSR integration is, the stages involved in CSR

implementation, and the role that managers, and specifically high potentials, may play. To do so,


5

we first conceptualize a theoretical framework based on a literature review of research related to

CSR integration, implementation, and managers and future managers’ roles. We also report the

findings of an empirical study in which we qualitatively explore how S&B members have

embedded CSR and the extent to which high potentials, as critical change agents, support the

process. Finally, we identify the study’s theoretical and managerial contributions, address some

limitations, and suggest avenues for further research.

Theoretical Background

Integration represents the desired end stage of a set of activities an organization undertakes to

orient toward CSR, which requires culture change. Culture reflects the underlying assumptions

about the way work should be performed and what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable

business practices (Atkinson, 1990). We might identify CSR-generated cultural change by, for

example, employee rewards and recognition that are linked to CSR adoption and learning (Lyon,

2004; Werre, 2003). Ethics research suggests that integration also involves dedicated training

about and formalized auditing of activities to ensure their compliance with CSR ideals (Maon et

al., 2010; Paine, 1994; Weaver et al., 1999).

Without such integration and reinforcement, CSR likely remains nothing more than a public

relations activity, such that the ties that bind CSR to the organization’s commercial activities

eventually break (Weaver et al., 1999). Bateson et al. (2006) call this state of affairs moral

hypocrisy, because CSR is simply a marketing activity that becomes “shallow and ultimately a

useless concept” (Maak, 2008, p. 356).

This description prompts two questions: First, how does an organization measure the extent to

which it has achieved CSR integration? Second, how does an organization deepen the level of


6

this integration? Outcome measures, such as employee rewards linked to CSR adoption, might

address the first question at least partially, but they cannot demonstrate full adoption of a value

system. The second question thus seems easier to answer, by considering prior studies about

CSR integration and implementation.

CSR integration

In a final CSR integration stage, all of an organization’s activities are determined by its

compliance with CSR principles. The extent to which organizations achieve this goal determines

their level of CSR integration (see Table 1). Two frameworks define different levels of CSR

integration. First, Dunphy et al. (2003) suggest that an organization rejects CSR because it

perceives the concept as burdensome; engagement then results from regulatory pressure, which

ultimately leads to the acceptance of its potential for providing economic benefits.

Second, another framework posits that individuals, organizations, and societies have

consistent sets of values, beliefs, and corresponding behaviors that form their value systems.

These systems evolve in a fixed order: from survival to security, energy and power, order, and

success, and finally to community, synergy, and holistic life systems. Each new value system

includes and goes beyond the previous ones, forming a natural hierarchy. For example,

organizations initially need to establish cash flow, which drives all their decisions. As they gain

success, they can focus on fulfilling their moral and environmental obligations. Van Marrewijk

and Werre’s (2003) framework therefore assumes that CSR integration reflects the extent to

which managers and employees align their values with the overall principles of sustainability and

allow it to influence the way they conduct business.


7

The differences in the driving forces between these two frameworks reflect the debate about

whether CSR is appropriate because it provides instrumental benefits, because it supports wealth

maximization for shareholders, or because it provides moral benefits and enables the

organization to do the right thing (Waldman and Sigel, 2008). However, both frameworks arrive

at the same place: CSR becomes the “glue” that binds the organization’s activities

{Take in Table 1}

Furthermore, both frameworks suggest integration is a sequential process; we also note this

process may lack sharply defined boundaries between stages and reveal haphazard progressions.

For example, the internally determined human resource policies of a single company could be in

a proactive or caring phase, but its environmental policies, which require negotiation and

agreement with external parties, simultaneously could be stuck in the efficiency- or profit-driven

phases. The stages in each framework thus highlight the different levels of organizational

cultural change required to become fully integrated with CSR, though they cannot reveal how

such implementation may be achieved.

CSR implementation

The frameworks that outline CSR implementation generally indicate that it is an organizational

change process (Doppelt 2003; Were, 2003), though little agreement exists about how many or

which stages are involved. For example, Werre (2003) suggests four holistic stages: raising top

management awareness, formulating a CSR vision and core corporate values, changing

organizational behavior, and anchoring change. Doppelt’s (2003) “wheel of change” instead

comprises seven stages: alter the goals of the system, restructure the rules of engagement, shift

the flows of information, correct the feedback loop, adjust parameters, change the dominant


8

mind set, and rearrange the parts of the system. The circular processes reflect the different time

scales required to attain different levels of integration, such that some stages must be repeated to

move forward.

Jonker and De Witte (2006) add that CSR becomes organizationally embedded only when it

results in total added value for the organization. Their integrated CSR management framework

focuses on shaping the business proposition, defined as the organization’s mission, vision, and

business strategy. This proposition then determines the nature of the organization’s identity, its

systems, and the levels of accountability and transactivity, such that each becomes CSR-oriented

and facilitates integration.

Cramer et al.’s (2004, 2006) approach, which they call “sense making of CSR,” assumes that

change agents interpret what CSR means within their specific operating context. Change agents

implement CSR by translating their own views and intentions into language and actions that push

the organization to change its values (Cramer et al., 2004). The CSR implementation of each

organization therefore is unique, determined by the views of its change agents and their

personality, functions, and circles of influence (Cramer et al., 2004).

Porter and Kramer’s (2006) consider business and society mutually dependent; investing in

facilities to improve workforce health results in productivity gains, for example. This

instrumental focus requires the organization to assess the fit between its commercial interests and

the societal needs that may affect its ability to succeed.

Stakeholder theory provides a basis for understanding the CSR implementation process. For

example, Maignan et al. (2005) emphasize the need to consider stakeholders when defining

short-term outcomes and shaping the strategic focus, because this consideration leads to shared

ownership and an accepted understanding of where the organization is heading. In this sense,


9

CSR implementation is a negotiated activity, a theme further developed by Castka et al. (2004),

who point out that organizations build on what exists and therefore are limited in their ability to

introduce wholesale and complete change, so it must also be an incremental process.

Although these frameworks offer slightly different views about how to implement CSR to

achieve integration, they also entail some common elements, as we summarize in Table 2. An

organization might not pass through every stage, and the stages may progress sequentially or

simultaneously, as well as repeat. Therefore, the implementation process appears circular rather

than linear. The link across the stages is individual responsibility to drive change (Cramer et al.,

2004).

{Take in table 2}

High potentials

An organization works toward CSR integration by undertaking various activities, such that its

mission, vision, and strategic thrust cascade into its policies, practices, and processes. All

stakeholders have a role to play in setting the CSR agenda, but at the start, it needs considerable

buy-in from senior mangers (Thomas and Simerly, 1994). Senior management is responsible for

creating “a vision for the future which is aligned to the demands from the environment and

communicat[ing] this vision in a manner that inspires people to act in accordance with the

vision” (Werre, 2003, p. 248). If managers fail to demonstrate this strong moral responsibility,

according to Hemmingway (2005), it is doubtful whether greater CSR integration is possible.

Maak (2007, p. 330) recognizes that “we still have little knowledge about responsible leadership

and even less about how to develop responsibility in leaders to prepare them for the challenges of

a global and interconnected stakeholder society.” In turn, responsibility for the development of


10

CSR within the organization and its usage falls onto managers, as well as those being groomed to

become senior managers in the future. Yet research leaves unknown the role that high potentials,

as future managers, may play and how the organization can support them.

High potentials, as a group of employees, possess certain attributes that make them attractive

as CSR change agents. Change agents employ tactics such as persuasion and vigilance to

champion an issue and drive change (Beatty and Gordon, 1991). They possess strong personal

and business competencies, such as self-confidence and awareness, ambition, clear objectives,

dedication and motivation, communication and social skills, leadership, analytic and problem-

solving skills, teamwork and team building, creativity and flexibility, the ability to organize and

manage, independence and autonomy, and prioritization of improvement and innovation. These

competencies might be inherent personal characteristics, such as the willingness to push

themselves and others (Gritzmacher, 1989; Jones and Spooner, 2006), or gained through

management development (Pepermans et al., 2002) or supportive communications (Rausch et al.,

2001). They also confirm that high potentials can perform as senior managers (Altman, 1997;

Burke, 1997).

But to perform as CSR change agents, high potentials likely need additional competencies.

Personal and social-based competencies determine people’s ethical and moral principles

(Kellerman, 2006). In particular, personal competencies evolve from self-awareness, motivation,

sincerity, passion, and conviction for CSR, so they enable the creative application of resources to

overcome implementation barriers. Social competencies instead derive from social awareness,

willingness to listen, recognition of different perspectives, and openness to dilemmas. Therefore,

high potentials with strong social competencies likely understand the relevance of their

relationships with different stakeholders and how to achieve goals through communication.


11

Overall, sustainable leadership results from the interaction of leadership constructs, personal

moral standards, and the abilities to relate to different groups, align various values into a

common vision, and exhibit empathy for others (Maak and Pless, 2006).

In Table 3, we compare sustainable versus regular core competencies and find considerable

overlap. That is, organizations already recruit employees who exhibit some of the qualities

required for sustainable leadership. The differences relate to the person’s orientation toward

ethical and moral values, the desire to achieve success by working with others, and the

willingness to continue learning.

{Take in table 3}

Finally, we note that prior literature suggests that CSR integration occurs through

organizational cultural change, comprising various levels of integration that serve as markers and

different types of activities required to implement CSR. The change process requires that the

persons who take ownership of CSR principles must encourage them in daily work practices and

thus ultimately change the organization’s value system. This process cannot be instantaneous;

instead, it must be time-consuming and continuous and require the support of both current and

future senior managers. Therefore, we adjust our research questions: First, can organizations, as

part of their overall CSR implementation strategies, use high potentials as change agents?

Second, what competencies do high potentials need to become CSR change agents? To answer

the first question, we need a holistic understanding of the extent to which organization members

have implemented CSR; to answer the second, we require an understanding of what

organizations expect of high potentials.

Methodology


12

We choose a qualitative approach for this study, because we investigate complex phenomena and

need to take many variables into account (Eisenhardt, 1989; Matthyssens and Vandenbempt,

2003; Yin, 1994). Specifically, we use a case study with secondary data and multiple interviews

to develop rich insights and provide a basis for transferring our findings to other contextual

settings (Eisenhardt, 1989; Lindgreen, 2008). As the established body in the Netherlands for

promoting CSR for business organizations, S&B offers a good subject. Its 28 members include

highly respected and leading national and multinational organizations.

Because our goal for this exploratory research was to develop an understanding of the CSR-

related competencies required for high potentials, as well as how management might help them

add value to CSR implementation, we focus the data collection effort on identifying the sampled

organizations’ CSR adoption stage. The evaluations of their mission statements, strategies,

values, and principles, as well as the CSR strategies and activities they had in place, provides

case-specific contexts for examining the link between the CSR implementation stage and high

potentials’ involvement with regard to managerial development activities and desired core

competencies. For the interviews, we identified four main topic areas, derived from our literature

review and secondary organizational data: organization description; mission, strategy, and values

(or principles); CSR strategy and activities; and the nature of high potentials’ competences.

Case description


13

All the participating organizations are members of the S&B network, which means they are

committed to developing CSR practices.2 However, each member is likely to represent a

different level of adoption. To ensure our results apply to organizations outside the S&B network

as well, we ensured that the sample represents six different industries. We interviewed

employees of two firms from the accountancy and consultancy, information and communication

technology, and finance industries, and we interviewed member from the telecommunications,

electronics, and mail and logistics sectors. Each of these targeted organizations actively

implements CSR across the entire company; other members of S&B have yet to move from the

awareness or creation stage to CSR implementation, so they probably have not amended their

recruitment or training policies to reflect a stronger CSR orientation.

Data collection and analysis

To build each case, we collected data with various methods. First, the case study organizations

provided written documentation, including annual reports, corporate responsibility reporting

documents, and information related to the recruitment and training of new employees and high

potentials. In addition, we evaluated the organizations’ Web sites and pertinent academic papers.

These data offer comprehensive insights into the CSR practices and recruitment and management

development activities of the sampled organizations.

Second, we conducted interviews with 14 persons responsible for either the recruitment and

development of high potentials or the implementation of CSR. Each semi-structured interview

lasted between 45 and 60 minutes. Although we had hoped to interview both the CSR and the

2 The S&B networks main goals are to embed CSR into participating organizations’ business processes; actively

contribute to Dutch social issues; inspire employees in member organizations to adopt CSR; and influence the Dutch

CSR agenda.


14

recruitment managers in each organization, we could not do so for two firms (either because the

same person could address both sets of questions or because a manager was unavailable during

the time of the study). All interviews continued until they reached saturation, that is, no extra

questions yielded additional insights (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Although the interviews

provided most of the necessary information, we gathered any missing information from other

data resources, such as the organizations’ Web sites. The interviews were recorded and

transcribed, then translated into English. The transcriptions created 43 pages of text (Arial, 11-

point, single spaced). To analyze the transcriptions, we first eliminated irrelevant data, then

divided the remaining data into the four main categories: mission, strategy, and values (or

principles); corporate social responsibility; high potentials as CSR change agents; and high

potentials’ CSR competencies.

These multiple methods for collecting data enhance the robustness of the study's findings,

help compensate for the weaknesses of any one data collection method, improve the quality of

the final interpretation, and help ensure triangulation (Beverland and Lindgreen, 2010; Jick,

1979; Strauss and Corbin, 1998; Yin, 1994). Because the unit of analysis is each case

organization, we combine the information from each set of interviews and the secondary sources

into a final case manuscript for each organization. Throughout the study, we also adopted

precautions to improve the research quality. First, in preliminary research, we identified the most

appropriate members of S&B to ensure a broad range of organization types and levels of CSR

commitment. Second, the three researchers involved in this study each provided independent

interpretations of the findings. Third, we conducted multiple interviews and gave interviewees

the opportunity to provide feedback on the initial findings. These tactics also reinforce the

reliability of our findings. Furthermore, whereas colleagues performed the independent coding of


15

the transcripts, all the interviews were conducted by the same interviewer, which reduces the

potential for bias (Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Strauss and Corbin, 1998).

Findings

The organizational data sources, such as Web sites, company reports, and the interviews,

revealed how the organizations had changed their activities to support their CSR implementation;

the extent to which they had achieved their CSR integration; whether high potentials were

involved in the CSR implementation; and the opportunities for high potentials to become

involved in the CSR implementation.

Mission, strategy, and values

A CSR orientation is likely to appear in an organization’s mission statement, with further

elaborations in its business strategy and corporate values. Of the nine sampled organizations,

three mission statements made direct references to CSR, such as enriching customer lives,

ensuring employees consider social issues when performing their duties, and taking

responsibility for the organization’s impact on the world. The other six organizations highlight

CSR in their strategy statements and employee value policies. As part of strategy, their CSR

appears in phrases such as teamwork, developing people, and excelling in business collaboration.

To translate a mission into operational activities requires that CSR underpins the values and

principles that define business conduct and the treatment of employees. All nine organizations

listed certain values and principles, and though they vary in number, at least half of them

centered on CSR. This finding indicates that organizations have begun the process of cultural

change to achieve their CSR orientation. The most common CSR themes include a focus on


16

employees and teamwork, leading by example, working with partners that share similar CSR

views, being responsible corporate citizens, taking personal responsibility for their actions,

respecting human rights and the environment, being accountable, being open, and working in a

context of mutual respect.

Corporate social responsibility

As an inherent feature of the CSR framework, the organization must align its strategic thrust with

the principles of CSR, with the support and perhaps impetus of senior managers. All

organizations had the support of their senior manager to promote CSR, though that support

depended on the managers’ personal views, as the following quotes demonstrate:

“They [i.e., the board] have a personal interest. They realize society is changing, customers

change, and they want to adapt to that.” (CSR Manager, Bank 1)

“We noticed that when we took proposals to the board, it was difficult to discuss with them

why CSR is important for the company. That is what surprised me. We can readily make a

decision on a business issue, we can invest, we can sell and buy, but deciding on a theme in

CSR, that is something personal.” (Board member, Accountancy Company 1)

“I personally think that looking at the change in our environment, accountants and consultants

are covered under rules and administrative burdens to do their business. A second pillar has to

support the business, that is CSR. The company and its employees have to take the

responsibility for what is happening in their surroundings.” (Board Member, Accountancy

Company 2)

Therefore, the desire to keep the organization aligned with the CSR views of wider society drives

their CSR adoption, but the individual values of the senior mangers shape what that adoption

means for the organization.

Further evidence of senior management support emerges with regard to how the organization

publicizes its CSR activities. All organizations reported CSR activities in their shareholder

reports or more focused publications, such as a sustainability report. This publication seems to


17

encourage the elaboration of CSR into principles and policies. For example, seven organizations

expressed specific CSR principles, and two embedded them into their business practices. Four

organizations undertook CSR initiatives aimed at developing a specific staff group or the whole

organization—for example, creating teams of young employees tasked with implementing CSR,

rewarding staff who worked on community projects, or partnering with UN initiatives to support

children’s education in developing countries.

Several factors also appear to determine the speed of CSR implementation. First, with one

exception, all the organizations were in good economic health, which enabled them to devote

resources to CSR. The one exception was focused on securing its financial well-being; it also

regarded CSR as an important but a lesser priority. Second, the duration of the organizations’

CSR involvement largely determined their stage. The majority of firms were still developing

their strategy, though two considered themselves on the road to implementation. Third, selecting

a CSR strategy that appealed universally to employees was challenging. Fourth, both

organizational size and the extent to which individual members valued CSR also influenced

implementation, as the following quotes show:

“Employees were enthusiastic to do something. The support from the board could be better.

It seems like it is only a communication issue right now. It should be a more important issue

within [the company], it should be implemented in the whole organization, but [the

company] is not that far. Right now, [the company] is searching which way they should go

with CSR and the implementation.” (Corporate Communications Manager, Electronics

Company)

“Awareness is a step-by-step process that takes time, and we are not done yet. I think that

everybody at Bank 1 knows that we are involved in CSR, that about 25% of the employees

understand what our choices are in CSR, but a large group does not yet know. People feel a

certain involvement with the issues in society that they see in the media and think what it

means for them in work life.” (CSR Manager, Bank 1)


18

The extent to which employees support CSR thus is critical to CSR implementation. In this

sense, implementation pertains to the values employees hold and how those values align with the

values of the organization.

High potentials as change agents for CSR implementation

Change agents use their views and values to influence the nature of CSR within their

organization. Organizations might believe that high potentials can serve this role; our results

reveal that because of their youth, they seem to reflect current societal norms, such that they

were expected to have knowledge and understanding of CSR. That is:

“They live in a different period. They are confronted with all kinds of issues in the world and

they are concerned about that. As a leader you are forced to think about these issues and do

something about it.” (Manager Environment and Sustainability, Accountancy 1)

“They are the people of the future. What you see is that it is an important strategic issue for

our board that young people have CSR in their head and heart.” (CSR Manager, Accountancy

2)

The society from which the organizations recruit their employees faces the constant challenges

of, for example, environmental issues and social concerns. Unlike current senior managers,

whose business philosophies likely were forged during a different period, young high potentials,

simply by virtue of their membership in modern society, are perceived to have relatively higher

awareness of CSR.

The organizations also believed that new employees, especially young ones, should be

exposed to CSR early in their careers. Four organizations used training or mentoring to

communicate their values and principles. One organization even differentiated between high

potentials and normal staff with regard to the level of CSR exposure they received when they

joined the organization. However, most firms did not identify their high potentials until after they


19

had worked for the firm for a period of time, and many believed new employees needed time to

adjust to working in a new organization. Therefore,

“For young starters it is good that they are confronted with CSR and take it into account in

their ambition; that is clear. In the long term, they can translate that to their employees, but in

the first year they cannot do that. Then they are searching for their own role within the

organization instead of putting sustainability on the agenda. I see this as a long-term role for

them. I also think it should not be a topic for a select group, but that it should be embedded

across the organization.” (Manager CSR, Bank 2)

“It is important to involve them from the beginning. But it is important that everybody at [the

company] knows CSR. I do not think they are the most important, but they are one of the

important parties.” (Corporate Communications Manager, Electronics Company)

Even when the high potentials did not serve as CSR change agents though, they were included

in activities designed to increase awareness and help shape CSR policy, such as spending a

working week on a CSR initiative or being part of a cross-functional team involved in a zero

assessment exercise:

“In the essential projects I include young people; they get prominent attention when we

promote it externally or internally. Besides that I include important people on a higher level to

create a win-win.” (CSR Manager, Accountancy 2)

“Depending on the position they reach, they can have a lot of influence. So they are important

for the future. A leader is important for a company and what they do. If a leader thinks CSR is

an important issue than he will use that in his company. So if a high potential becomes a

member of the executive board of a company he can have a lot of influence.” (Manager for

Environment and Sustainability, Telecommunications)

The leadership progression cycle thus brings high potentials in contact with a wide range of

employees from different business functional areas. In turn, they can identify and attempt to

understand the values of other employees, as well as the challenges associated with aligning their

views with the organizations’ CSR objectives.

High potentials’ CSR-oriented competencies


20

Recurrent throughout the interviews was a belief that individual members have personal

ownership of CSR as a sort of inherent characteristic, though the lack of a CSR orientation was

not necessarily as a barrier to recruitment:

“If people have no affinity with CSR they will not be rejected right away. There are many

people who have not thought about the issue and that are just confronted with it when they

start at [the company]. Then they might find it very interesting.” (Recruitment manager,

Logistics company)

“We do not want to take the risk of reputation damage, so we are aware of what we do and

with whom, but the main focus is still profit and keeping our stakeholders satisfied. So we

will really steer on cost reduction, also in the projects the trainees do .” (Young Talent

Manager, Bank 2)

Instead, the imperative for all sampled organizations was that they recruited persons they

could develop into managers who would be capable of leading the organization to success in

terms of its economic objectives. All S&B members are involved in CSR implementation, so we

had expected CSR competencies would be criteria for hiring high potentials. As we show in

Table 4 though, only four CSR competencies receive confirmation (from three or more

organizations) as important. Integrity, compliance, trust, and honesty is the most relevant,

followed by responsibility in relationships and teamwork, which is not surprising considering the

nature of these competencies. However, the low level of acceptance of the other competencies

suggests that organizations have yet to fully understand or define them in relation to their own

business needs. It also offers evidence that organizations do not link their CSR implementation

to high potentials, whether by recruiting employees that already possess such skills sets or by

developing them through management training.

{Take in table 4}

When we asked if the organizations’ competency requirements had changed to take CSR into

consideration, two companies noted their active efforts:


21

“The competence profile changed based on new insights, also because of new board members

internationally. A new person has new ideas and visions. That is based on a changing world.

[The company] is a product as well as a project company. We observed that products alone is

not sufficient anymore, you need to do more to stay ahead of your competitors. That means

that image, changing fast and flexibility of people becomes a more important theme. Then

you notice that next to knowledge and experience the behavioral component becomes more

important.... That is influenced by the outside world and new insights. Based on that, the

competence profile changed. CSR has had an influence on the change of the competences. It

is, of course, a win-win situation. We do not do CSR for charity. What we want to search for

consciously is where the profit is for us and for the end user.” (Manager Development

Academy, Electronics)

“I think high potentials can play a role in CSR implementation, but I do not consider them

crucial for the success of current social involvement programs since these are meant for all

employees. Knowledge and skills of high potentials could be used in the broader discussion,

but the question is will it deliver growth for us. Especially because it has less attention among

our type of company and also is seen as less relevant by the outside world.” (Director

Marketing and Communications Director, ICT Products and Services company 1)

Whereas these two organizations had developed new competency criteria that affected their

selection and development of high potentials, the other organizations were less certain. Three

stated that they did not seek to recruit or train high potentials in CSR, though they did expect

them to exhibit the values the organization prioritized. None of the organizations stated that they

recruited on the basis of prospective employees’ CSR beliefs. Instead, they asserted that high

potentials had to perform well for the business, which meant that their development had to

remain broad-based.

Discussion

To understand how high potentials might embed CSR into an organization, we first assessed the

level of integration of our case organizations. Although economic requirements remain

dominant, all our organizations had reached at least a strategic or synergistic CSR phase, such

that CSR had become an important part of their overall business strategy. None had reached the


22

point that CSR was fully embedded though; the level of integration achieved by each

organization varied according to the length of time it had been involved in CSR and the existence

of other competing (economic) priorities. In contrast with the similar outcomes that result from

Dunphy et al.’s (2005) and Van Marrewijk and Werre’s (2003) frameworks, we instead find two

unique drivers of organizations’ efforts: instrumental and morality. Both driving forces are

exemplified in the actions undertaken by the S&B, which seems to support Waldman and Sigel’s

(2008) claim that CSR integration begins with economic benefits, then evolves with the shift in

values. The balance between the two drivers appears unique to each organization, though S&B

can appreciate at least that the sampled organizations have moved beyond awareness generation.

The findings also suggest a comprehensive implementation framework (Table 5).

Organizations move through each phase according to their own needs. For example, in the case

study organizations, we find evidence that they had started the CSR process by aligning their

mission, vision, and values with CSR, which represents a significant step (Jonker and De Witte,

2006). The work to realign their corporate cultures remained an ongoing and considerable

challenge. As Porter and Kramer (2006), Maignan et al. (2005), and Castka et al. (2004) note,

CSR implementation is a gradual activity based on negotiated outcomes with stakeholders in an

attempt to gain collective support for the desired change.

{Take in table 5}

As a measure of cultural change, we have considered the recruitment of high potentials

because of their CSR-oriented competencies. None of our focal organizations did so, nor do we

find evidence that they focused on developing such competencies among existing employees.

These skills may develop indirectly when the organizations’ principles and values focus on CSR.

Furthermore, the organizations could define sustainable leadership competencies that overlap


23

with regular competencies. For example, trust and integrity, creativity, relationship management

and teamwork, coaching, communication, and facilitating change and social awareness are both

regular and sustainable leadership competencies. The acquisition of other competencies and the

realignment of existing ones to support CSR implementation again represents an incremental

process and provides a strong foundation, which may reduce resistance to change and speed the

CSR implementation.

However, the majority of the sample appeared reactive with regard to the adoption of CSR

principles by high potentials. High potentials received the same exposure to CSR principles as

did other employees, with the consistent objective of ensuring the employees understood the

organizations’ CSR philosophies, strategy, mission, values, and policies. In addition, according

to these organizations, the purpose of high potentials is to become future leaders of the business

and achieve economic success. Thus, even though high potentials have the leadership skills

needed to support CSR implementation, they were not used as change agents, because the

conditions in the organization did not enable them to serve this function. Although organizations

do not use high potentials in this role currently, they generally believe they will in the future.

Management implications

A key driver of CSR integration is the notion that it can become deeply embedded in an

organization’s policies, practices, and processes. Thus, the organization can prove to its

constituent stakeholders that its adoption of CSR is a serious endeavor, not a cynical marketing

communication activity. But defining a CSR strategy and aligning the organization’s mission,

vision, and values may constitute the easy part. The much harder part is converting these

concepts into actual practices, policies, and processes, even when the focus of the activities is


24

internal to the business. High potentials could play a significant role in CSR implementation and

integration, but allowing them to do so also appears difficult, because ultimately, their purpose is

to lead the business to economic success. Success still is defined as the imperative to create

shareholder wealth; broadening the definition of high potentials’ contribution to the organization

therefore may be a critical goal of CSR integration activity.

Yet economic success cannot be ignored; it provides the resources that support social and

environmental activities. To overcome the challenges posed by an economic imperative requires

a strong link between the organization’s CSR ambitions and the roles the high potentials

undertake. Therefore, organizations must overcome a key barrier: CSR integration by its very

nature may be ephemeral, because it reflects external views of what CSR is, as well as how the

organization determines it, both of which are subject to change. Implementation frameworks

consistently recognize that the process is iterative in nature and continuous. Therefore, critical

markers may provide a good means to assess both the extent of change in the culture and the

evolution of the organization as a whole. One clear marker would be whether high potentials take

responsibility for CSR implementation and integration and whether this task is regarded as a

positive goal, not a diversion from more important business activities.

Limitations and further research directions

As does most research, this study contains certain limitations that affect the interpretation of the

results and suggest directions for further research. First, though the case study organizations can

be considered representative of S&B members, the study involves only Dutch businesses.

Another investigation that considers these issues in other European countries or North America,

where the legal requirements differ, could provide additional insights. Second, a longitudinal


25

study may highlight more fully how CSR, as employees take ownership of it and integrate it into

their business practices, affects the selection and development of high potentials, and thus their

ability to become CSR change agents, which in turn would increase the speed of implementation

and sustainable integration. Third, much of our discussion is based on the assumption that high

potentials represent a young generation and therefore have strong CSR-based values. The extent

to which this assumption is true, and the role that high potentials might want to play as CSR

champions, demands careful evaluation. With such an understanding, organizations could

determine how to recruit, develop, and ultimately use high potentials to achieve their CSR

objectives.


26

APPENDIX CASE 1: ABN AMRO

International bank with 4,500 branches in 53 countries, employing 110,000, with assets of 999 billion

Euros, focused on consumer and commercial clients and globally on select multinational corporations,

financial institutions, and private clients.

Mission, Strategy, and Values

‘To create maximum economic value for our shareholders through a constant relationship focus on the

financial services needs of our chosen client segments and a strict adherence to our financial targets. We

are operating in three principal customer segments, whereby the objective is to maximize the value of

each of these businesses as well as the synergies between them. Excellence of service to our clients and

leadership in our chosen markets are of paramount importance to our long-term success.’ (ABN AMRO

Corporate Website)

Corporate Values

Integrity: teamwork: respect: and professionalism, underpin businesses principles to guide and evaluate

employees and define what the bank stands for: we are the heart of our organization: pursue excellence;

aim to maximize long-term shareholder value; manage risk prudently and professionally; strive to

provide excellent service; build our business on confidentiality; assess business partners on their

standards; a responsible institution and a good corporate citizen; respect human rights and the

environment; accountable for our actions and open about them. Collectively seen as essential to

achieving mission and used to develop policies and procedures.

Corporate Social Responsibility

‘To live our Corporate Values and Business Principles and to meet the needs of the organization and our

stakeholders, thus seeking to protect, sustain and enhance human, natural and financial capital needed in

the future.’ To ‘be committed to continuously improving the integration of sustainability into our working

environment and business processes. Our aim is to play a proactive role in contributing to sustainability,

within our spheres of influence. We are committed to accountability and transparency in our

sustainability performance.’ (ABN AMRO Sustainability Report 2006)

Fulfilling its values and principles enables it to meet organization and stakeholders needs to protect,

sustain and improve human, natural, and financial capital and achieve sustainable growth. CSR strategy

based on six principles: 1) Being accountable and transparent: 2) Protecting the assets: 3) Providing

responsible financial services: 4) Being an employer of choice: 5) Supporting local communities: 6)

Minimizing impact on the environment:

Corporate Social Responsibility and High Potentials CSR implementation

Stimulates all employees to consider and be involved in CSR; high potentials can spend one week of

their working hours a year on volunteer work. High potentials are not tasked with CSR

implementation.

Competences

High potentials’ competencies relate to the key values of the company (integrity, teamwork, respect, and

professionalism). Plus initiative, courage and risk taking, commercial drive, result focus and ambition,

problem analysis and judgment. This competence profile is relatively constant but improved regularly.

Trainees evaluated on key values and competences and aspects of CSR inherent in these, but specific

CSR evaluation not undertaken.


27

CASE 2: ING BANK

Leading global financial services company; interests in banking, insurance, and asset management

services; employing 120,000 worldwide whose customers are individuals, families, small businesses,

large corporations, institutions, and governments.


‘We strive to deliver our financial products and services in the way our customers expect: with

exemplary service, maximum convenience and at competitive rates. This is reflected in our mission

statement: to set the standard in helping our customers manage their financial future.’ (ING Annual

Report 2006)

Corporate Values

ING’s management structure follows the principles of transparency, accountability and client focus. Its

strategy seeks the following: a clear financial objective; a clear strategy; customer satisfaction;

managing costs; managing risks; managing reputation; growth; a performance culture, used to

generate business principles which serve to guide employees: committed to our integrity; aim for an

above average return; open and clear; promote sustainable development and respect human rights; we

respect each other; involved in the communities we operate in (ING Corporate Website).


Corporate values determine role in society: to maintain stakeholder’s confidence by acting with

professionalism and integrity. ING has been involved in CSR for a number of years and is structuring is

CSR policies. A CSR department was established with CSR parameters defined by the board which see it

as a strategic issue based on: entrepreneurship; sustainability as a quality characteristic; success for

entrepreneurs. Internally focused on awareness; defining CSR, what is going on in society and how ING

can respond? Employees are aware they can contribute to CSR, reinforced through training.

Corporate Social Responsibility and High Potentials CSR Implementation

All employees learn the business principles through induction and courses on compliance. Groups

targeted as able to further CSR receive additional instruction and guidelines to encourage open

discussion. High potentials undertook round-table sessions to gain insights as what they want, and think is

important, to connect them with CSR. High potentials are considered important for future CSR

implementation. Awareness of CSR has been established, ongoing challenge is structurally embed it

within development programs.

Competences

Its leadership profile describes behaviors required in current and future leaders used to measure high

potentials, assess general managers, develop the ING Business school curriculum and recruit the right

people 1) create shared vision and strategy; 2) drive for result with integrity and compliant behaviour: 3)

focus on customer; 4) build, engage and empower high performing teams; 5) embrace and drive for

change: 6) entrepreneurship (ING Career Website).

CASE 3: DELOITTE NETHERLANDS


‘Deliver measurable value to our clients through a global network of diverse professionals who bring

unmatched depth and breadth of expertise.’ (Deloitte, Annual Report 2005-2006)

Achieved through “Corporate Understandings,” which demonstrate strategic direction focus on:

leadership; quality; teamwork, and client relationships with associated values and standards of excellence.

Corporate Values


28

Complimentary to strategy, globally shared values were developed that apply to all employees: integrity;

outstanding value to markets and clients; commitment to each other; strength from cultural diversity.

These form the business code of conduct for all employees focused on public confidence, client and

mutual obligations (Deloitte Corporate Website).


‘A form of entrepreneurship based on creating value for our clients, our people and other stakeholders

through allocation of human and intellectual capital allowing us to make an actively positive contribution

to society and reduce our impact on the environment in a commercially responsible manner.’ (Deloitte

Stakeholder Report 2005-2006).

In 2006 Deloitte Netherlands’ strategic plan placed sustainable growth alongside operational

excellence as a top priority. CSR policies are based on nine values and ethical principles: honesty and

integrity; professional behaviour; competence: objectivity; confidentiality; fair business practices;

responsibility to society; respect and fair treatment: responsible decision-making. CSR strategy focuses

on five strategic themes: integrity; employees; member of society; outstanding values for clients;

ecological footprint. Deloitte was first of the big four financial service providers in the Netherlands to

publish a Corporate Responsibility report and set sustainability goals for 2006 to 2008. Deloitte wants the

role of CSR thought leader, to influence society as a whole and be an example for others and apply their

knowledge and CSR experience (Deloitte Stakeholder Report 2005 – 2006).

Corporate Social Responsibility and High Potentials CSR Implementation CSR implementation involves young people who conducted the zero assessment to define CSR

undertaken, because they had various functions, work in a range of departments and locations. This group

formed the basis for further CSR implementation and are seen as important because they can encourage

CSR adoption.

Competences

High potential competences required are entrepreneurship, excellent service, commercial skills,

leadership effectiveness and effective management, plus to possess professional qualities and social skills.

Entrepreneurship is CSR strategy theme which links these.

CASE 4: KPMG NETHERLANDS

A Dutch company and a member firm of the KPMG network, providing services in Audit, Tax and

Advisory. KPMG has an annual turnover of about 634 million Euros, employing 4000 employees in the

Netherlands (KPMG Website the Netherlands).


‘Outstanding professionals working together to deliver value. We offer Audit, Tax and Advisory

services. Three complementary areas of knowledge and insight that enable us to meet the needs of

our clients. We turn knowledge into value for the benefit of our clients, our people and the capital

markets.’ (KPMG Annual Report 2005)

Strategy based on four principles: quality and integrity; knowledge and experience; multidisciplinary;

the best people.

Corporate Values

KPMG globally formulated corporate values: act with integrity; work together; respect the individual;

seek the facts and provide insight; open and honest in our communication; we are committed to our

communities; lead by example. Employees trained to work with these values to guide them in the

decisions, considerations and judgments they make that cannot easily classified in training, handbooks or

procedures.


29


‘CSR sought through four strategic pillars: 1) Translating and embedding CSR values and principles into

business processes and procedures. 2) Decrease effect on the environment, reducing ecological footprint.

3) Invest in Dutch society, focusing on social inclusion, specifically the vulnerable, deprived young,

disabled and elderly that are socially isolated. 4) Stakeholder consultation and corporate responsibility

reporting. These were created after a broad consultation with internal and external CSR stakeholders

which also resulted in the appointment of a CSR director and department.’ (KPMG Annual Report 2006).


CSR not corporately structurally implemented. Aspects such as a professional code (integrity driven),

values and community investment are well developed and embedded. It directors are attentive to CSR, but

struggle to show leadership because finding the right themes and to understand the sense of urgency of

certain issues is challenging. Organizational culture means CSR is not imposed on individuals who are

considered to value traditional work practices.

Competences

CSR competences are: problem solving; commercial focus; integrity; team work; lead others; build

effective relationships; learn from experience; desire to achieve; passionate about client service;

proactive. All employees through their annual plan agree how they will fulfill each competency and are

measured on this. The plan should include a CSR element as “extra functions” i.e. what they will do in

their work for society, this does not form part of their performance evaluation.

CASE 5: IBM NETHERLANDS

Globally largest information and communication technology company with 300.000 employees in 160

countries and annual revenue of 90 billion dollars. World leader in middleware and second-largest

software company overall. Market leader in information management software, application integration,

middleware categories, IT services, consulting and server sales (IBM Annual Report 2005).


‘At IBM, we strive to lead in the invention, development and manufacture of the industry's most

advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, storage systems and

microelectronics. We translate these advanced technologies into value for our customers through our

professional solutions, services and consulting businesses worldwide.’

IBM seeks to be a partner in its clients’ success by enabling their capacity to innovate, so that they

may differentiate themselves for competitive advantage in a global economy. IBM views enterprise

innovation in terms of products and services, and across all dimensions of its business: processes, model,

management systems, culture and role in society.

Corporate Values ‘The IBM values, formed in conjunction with employees, provide the basis for everything employees

do: dedication to every client's success; innovation that matters, for our company and world; trust

and personal responsibility in all relationships. Values enable organizations to manage themselves in

a world where hierarchical controls and rule books no longer work.’ (IBM Corpora te Website).


IBM has a long CSR footprint e.g. led on workplace safety before first formal policy was issued in 1967

and established a corporate policy on environmental protection in 1971. CSR strategy: employees;

environment; community involvement; supply chain responsibility; governance and compliance (IBM

Corporate Responsibility Report 2006). To identify its workforce CSR orientation, IBM launched an

intranet site that employees could post examples of social engagement activities. Employee’s engagement


30

was encouraged through financial donation to the CSR activity triggered when they undertook 40 hours

plus on such activities.


‘All new employees including high potentials participate in induction, CSR is part of this. The CSR

department does not focus on high potentials, instead focused on convincing current leaders to support

CSR. The next step is to work with high potentials as future leaders to gain long term support.’

Competences

High potential competences realigned to fit new company values: earning peoples trust being trust worthy

and acting accordingly are considered as basic behaviors a person should possess. CSR was indirectly

involved in the development of the new set of competencies because they reflected IBM’s values.

CASE 6: LOGICACMG NETHERLANDS

Leading international information technology (IT) services-company, providing management and IT

consultancy, systems development and integration, outsourced management of targeted business

processes across diverse markets. In the Netherlands, focused on consultancy with about 6000 employees

(LogicaCMG Website the Netherlands).


'To help leading organisations worldwide achieve their business objectives through the innovative

delivery of information technology and business process solutions'

‘Its strategy is to be a provider of international services with local attention: acting as a bridge

between business and ICT: and viewing the customer as central, enshrined in the view that when the

customer is successful, LogicaCMG and her employees are successful. The company strives for long

lasting and intensive customer relationships.’

Corporate Principles

LogicaCMG, merged with Unilog and WM-data, which all had recognized reputation and ability to

successfully deliver to customers due to the quality of their people. Building on the shared legacy of

people focused values one set of values and one set of systems and processes were created: openness,

communication and involvement; mutual respect, fairness, integrity and meritocracy; professionalism and

quality; recruiting the best people and releasing their potential; loyalty; client focus and teamwork. These

principles define the way LogicaCMG and its employees do business. (LogicaCMG Annual Report 2006)


Good standards of corporate responsibility are inherent to its business principles. The company

established policies which reflect the company’s ethos and attitude towards its employees, customers,

other stakeholders and the community in general. CSR is brought into the workplace through partnership

with UNICEF to provide education for all children by 2015. The Bloom program involves employees

fundraising and free delivery of manpower, ICT knowledge to school related projects in developing

countries. Every division has one manager who promotes the program. All employees chose to participate

or not in Bloom. The company within the S&B network shares CSR practice to further its development. It

is early on in its CSR orientation but sees CSR as becoming a future strategic focus.

Corporate Social Responsibility and High Potentials CSR implementation CSR orientation currently is to people and identified to a limited extent in Human Resource policies

because it is only part of the company’s agenda. High potentials, just like other employees are confronted

with Bloom during a two day introduction. The first day is focused on their business unit. The second day

all new employees come together to receive presentations, discussions etc. on social involvement. High

potentials are currently not considered important for CSR implementation.


31

CASE 7: KPN

KPN is leading Dutch Telecommunication Company providing telephone, Internet and television

services to personal customers through its fixed network in the Netherlands and a range of services,

from voice, Internet and data services to full managed outsourced ICT solutions to business

customers and mobile services in Western Europe and employees 29.000 (KPN Corporate Website).


‘We are committed to providing a portfolio of modern, high quality telecommunications services to

our customers. We want to help our customers to achieve their goals and to enrich their lives,

whether for business or pleasure.’ (KPN Corporate Website).

KPN strategic challenged to develop new services whilst keeping leadership in ‘old’ markets by:

having lowest cost infrastructure; open access infrastructure; providing new for old; new services for

consumers: and new services for businesses. KPN believes a society of satisfied customers forms the

basis for profitable growth and subsequently shareholder value. Quality and customer satisfaction are

realized through motivated employees. Conscious of their responsibilities to the wider community,

they contribute through their use of knowledge and technology to all stakeholder well -being, and

account to them for their environmental performance (KPN Sustainability Report 2005).

Corporate Values

Its Code of Conduct sets out the standards and values of the company and describes how employees are

expected to conduct business: personal; trust; simplicity.


‘The products and services of KPN contribute to the improvement of the quality of life. KPN makes it

possible to communicate independent of time and place and connects people.’

CSR strategy builds on: 1) Sustainable business, includes ethics, environment and social policy. 2)

Social involvement, based on socially responsible initiatives related to products and services e.g. ‘My

Child Online’ foundation which contributes to more responsible use of new media by young people. 3)

Personal involvement, how employees and KPN work with society to resolve social issue. All this is

moderated by KPN’s focus to recover financially after spending considerably in 2001 on acquisitions and

mobile internet licenses which almost led to company failure. CSR is important but it a lesser priority

than economic well being.


All employees including high potentials are confronted with the company code of conduct which has

inbuilt CSR elements Although high potentials are not included structurally in CSR it is recognised as

future leaders they may become important because they are considered to have different views and values

to current leaders.

Competences

Core competences expected of current and future leaders are: priority; customer; team; influence; result;

and change. These competences are not specifically linked to CSR.

CASE 8: SIEMENS NETHERLANDS

Siemens Netherlands is part of Siemens AG, with turnover of all Siemens companies in the Netherlands

around 1.5 million Euros in 2006. With a workforce of 3,188 Siemens Group is one of the leading

companies in electrical engineering (Siemens Website the Netherlands).


32


‘Siemens is a global network of innovation. This worldwide network is formed by people that want to

apply their knowledge on electrical engineering and electronics to give their customers a competitive

advantage. Siemens employees learn continuously and work closely together with each other and with

partners. They are energetic, without loosing the social importance out of sight and are proud to

contribute to the success of the organization.’ (Siemens Website the Netherlands).

To fulfill its mission its strategy is based on the following: translate urbanization and demographic

changes in growing opportunities: market leader position; and Fit4More delivered through performance &

portfolio, continuous adjustment and innovation, operational excellence, the best processes, people

excellence, involvement as a basis for success and corporate responsibility, active for people and society

(Siemens Website the Netherlands).


Corporate Principles were defined globally and establish standards of integrity for all employees and

values for all business activities. Corporate Principles are: strengthen our customers to keep them

competitive; push innovation to shape the future; enhance company value to open up new opportunities;

empower our people to achieve world-class performance; embrace corporate responsibility to advance

society (Siemens Corporate Website).


Corporate Citizenship is embedded in business activities and is committed to a strategy that generates

profit and growth while contributing to the well-being of people and the planet. CSR strategy is focused

on people; employees, customers and society, working conditions, labor agreements, sustainable products

and services and community investment. For the environment the company mainly complies with the

rules and regulations. CSR implementation is considered to be efficient. (Siemens Annual Report 2006).


With a clear CSR strategy it seeks to develop current CSR policies further, and identify new projects.

High potentials are not targeted to be involved in CSR implementation though they are considered

influential. All new employees participate in induction which includes CSR.

Competences

Competence framework based on: knowledge, experience and behaviour, divided in five themes that

represent several competences: 1) Edge: Creativity, entrepreneurship, Autonomy, and Strategic vision and

risk management. 2) Energy: Initiative, Willingness to change, Learning capacity, and Professionalism. 3)

Energize: Communication skills, Networking, Coaching and Mentoring, and Team player. 4) Execute:

Analytical capacity, Decision making ability, and Result and Quality focus. 5) Passion: Customer focus,

Integrity, and Siemens Values.

CASE 9: TNT POST

TNT Post, part of a global provider of mail, express and logistic services. In the Netherlands TNT Post is

the market leader in addressed and non-addressed mail. Globally TNT Post has about 80.000 employees

of which 40.000 work in the Netherlands. In 2004 the turnover of TNT Post was 3.9 billion Euros (TNT

Corporate Website).


‘Exceed our customers’ expectations in transferring their goods and documents around the world. We

deliver value to our clients by providing the most reliable and efficient solutions through delivery

networks. We lead the industry by: Instilling pride in our people; creating value for our shareholders;

and sharing responsibility for our world. (TNT Social Responsibility Report 2006)’


33


Living consistently by TNT Business Principles cements the company’s culture. Business operated

according to four guiding principles containing seventeen statements: 1) Principles that guide the

company; 2) Principles that guide the employees; 3) Principles that guide the business; 4) Principles that

guide the relationship with the world (TNT Corporate Website).


TNT strives to improve its social and environmental impact on communities. To help people realize

potential and meet the needs of the current generation without producing a poorer world. The CSR focus

is: stakeholders’ expectations; core business and accompanying sector-specific issues; competitors’

KPI’s/target areas, enabling the outside world to compare TNT’s performance with that of its

competitors; strategy and mission; the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index.

Corporate Social Responsibility and High Potentials CSR Implementation CSR implementation requires employee’s awareness which starts with induction program. The goal of

this induction is to make employees aware that in their work they should not only focus on profit, but also

on people and planet and that CSR has to become part of every project they are involved in. High

potentials can take part in the regular CSR activities that are available for everyone. Young TNT, a union

of young employees, regularly has CSR initiatives.

Competences

TNT competence framework does not differentiate between current and future leaders: 1) Key

competences-manage with the heart, build on promise, trust others to deliver, action and taking decisions,

open for possibilities. 2) Transactional competences-awareness of business and market, customer focused,

team work, deliver value, strategic thinking, learning. 3) Basic skills-effective communication, planning,

functional knowledge. High potentials should possess or develop these competences and are evaluated on

these. TNT wants new employees to have affinity for CSR. No specific competences are directly linked to

CSR, performance against CSR criteria not undertaken.

Company Reports

ABN AMRO Annual report 2006

ABN AMRO Sustainability report 2006

Deloitte Netherlands Annual report 2005 - 2006

Deloitte Netherlands Stakeholder Report 2005 - 2006

IBM Annual Report 2005

IBM Corporate Responsibility Report 2006

ING Bank Annual Report 2005

ING Group Corporate Responsibility Report 2006

KPMG Netherlands Annual report 2005

KPN Sustainability Report 2006

LogicaCMG Annual Report 2006

Siemens Netherlands Annual Report 2006

TNT Group Social Responsibility report 2006

Websites

ABN AMRO Corporate website, www.abnamro.com, last accessed May 15, 2007

IBM Corporate website www.ibm.com, last accessed May 18, 2007

ING Career website, www.ing.jobs/careers/ , last accessed on May 22 , 2007

ING Group Corporate website, www.ing.com, last accessed May 22, 2007

KPMG Netherlands website, www.kpmg.nl, last accessed May 18, 2007

http://www.abnamro.com/

http://www.ibm.com/

http://www.ing.jobs/careers/

http://www.ing.com/

http://www.kpmg.nl/


34

KPN Corporate Website www.kpn.com, last accessed May 18, 2007

LogicaCMG Netherlands website, www.logicacmg.nl, last accessed May 18, 2007

Samenleving & Bedrijf Website, www.samen.nl, last accessed March 19, 2007

TNT Group Corporate website, www.tnt.com, last accessed May 18, 2007

http://www.kpn.com/

http://www.logicacmg.nl/

http://www.samen.nl/

http://www.tnt.com/


35

REFERENCES

Altman, Y.: 1997. ‘The High-Potentials Fast-flying Achiever: Themes from the English

Language Literature 1976-1995’, Career Development International 2 (7), 324-330.

Atkinson, P.E.: 1990. ‘Creating Cultural Change’, Management Services 34 (7), 6-10.

Bateson, C.D., Collins, E., and Powell, A.A.: 2006, ‘Doing Business After the Fall: The Virtual

model of hypocrisy’, Journal if Business Ethics 66, 321-335.

Beatty, C.A., and Gordon, J.R.M.: 1991, ‘Preaching the Gospel: The Evangelists of New-

Technology’, California Management Review 33 (3), 73-94.

Beverland, M.B. and Lindgreen, A.: 2010, ‘What Makes a Good Case Study? A Positivist

Review of Qualitative Case Research Published in Industrial Marketing Management, 1971-

2006’, Industrial Marketing Management 39 (1), 56-63.

Burke, L.A.: 1997, ‘Developing High-Potential Employees in the New Business Reality’,

Business Horizons 40 (2), 18-24.

Carroll, A.B.: 1979, ‘A Three-Dimensional Conceptual Model of Corporate Performance’,

Academy of Management Review 4 (4), 497-505.

Castka, P., Balzarova, M.A., Bamber, C.J., and Sharp, J.M.: 2004, ‘How Can SMEs Effectively

Implement the CSR Agenda? A UK Case Study Perspective’, Corporate Social

Responsibility and Environmental Management 11 (3), 140-149.

Cramer, J., Jonker, J., and van der Heijden, A.: 2004, ‘Making Sense of Corporate Social

Responsibility’, Journal of Business Ethics 55 (2), 215-222.

Cramer, J., van der Heijden, A., and Jonker, J.: 2006, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility:

Making Sense through Thinking and Acting’, Business Ethics: A European Review 15

(4), 380-389.

Cox, C. J. and Cooper, C. L.: 1988, High Flyers: An Anatomy of Managerial Success (Basil

Blackwell, Oxford).

Derr, C. B., Jones, C., and Toomey, E.L.: 1988, ‘Managing High-Potential Employees:

Current Practices in Thirty-Three U.S. Corporations’, Human Resource Management 27

(3), 273-292.

Doppelt, B.: 2003, Leading Change Toward Sustainability: A Change Management Guide for

Business, Government and Civil Society (Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield).

Dunphy, D.C., Griffiths, A., and Benn, S.: 2003, Organizational Change for Corporate

Sustainability: A Guide for Leaders and Change Agents of the Future (Routledge, London).

Elkington, J.: 1997, Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business

(New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island).

Eisenhardt, K.M.: 1989, ‘Building Theories from Case Study Research’, Academy of

Management Review 14 (4), 532-550.

Garriga, E. and Melé, D.: 2004, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping the

Territory’, Journal of Business Ethics 53, 51–57.

Gritzmacher, K.J.: 1989, ‘Staying Competitive through Strategic Management of Fast-Track

Employees’, National Productivity Review 8 (4), 421-432.

Hemmingway, C.A.: 2005, ‘Personal Values as a Catalyst for Corporate Social

Entrepreneurship’, Journal of Business Ethics 60, 233-249.

Jick, T.D.: 1979, ‘Mixing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods: Triangulation in Action’,

Administrative Science Quarterly 24 (4), 602-611.

Jonker, J. and de Witte, M.: 2006, Challenge of Organising and Implementing Corporate Social

Responsibility (Palgrave, Basingstoke).


36

Joyner, B. E. and Payne, D.: 2002, ‘Evolution and Implementation: A Study of Values,

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility’, Journal of Business Ethics 41(4),

297-311.

Jones, G. and Spooner, K.: 2006, ‘Coaching High Achievers’, Consulting Psychology

Journal: Practice and Research 58 (1), 40-50.

Kellerman, A.: 2006, The S-Factor: A Responsible Guide to Sustainable Leadership

(Business Contact, Amsterdam).

Lincoln, Y.S. and Guba, E.: 1985, Naturalistic Inquiry (Sage, Beverly Hills, CA).

Lindgreen, A.: 2008, Managing Market Relationships: Methodological and Empirical Insights

(Gower Publishing, Aldershot).

Lindgreen, A., Swaen, V., and Johnston, W.J.: 2009, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: An

Empirical Investigation of U.S. Organizations’, Journal of Business Ethics 85 (Suppl. 2),

303-323.

Lyon, D.: 2004, ‘How Can You Help Organizations Change to Meet the Corporate

Responsibility Agenda?’ Corporate Responsibility and Environmental Management 11 (3),

133-139.

Maak, T.: 2007, ‘Responsible Leadership, Stakeholder Engagement, and the Emergence of

Social Capital’, Journal of Business Ethics 74, 329-343

Maak, T.: 2008, ‘Undivided Corporate Responsibility: Towards a Theory of Corporate

Integrity’, Journal of Business Ethics 82, 353-368.

Maak, T. and Pless, N. M.: 2006, Responsible Leadership (Routledge, London).

Maignan, I.: 1997, Antecedents and Benefits of Corporate Citizenship: A Comparison of U.S.

and French Businesses, unpublished PhD thesis (University of Memphis at Tampa, TN).

Maignan, I., Ferrell, O.C., and Ferrell, L.: 2005, ‘A Stakeholder Model for Implementing Social

Responsibility in Marketing’, European Journal of Marketing 39 (9/10), 956-977.

Maon, F., Lindgreen, A., and Swaen, V.: 2009, ‘Designing and Implementing Corporate Social

Responsibility: An Integrative Framework Grounded in Theory and Practice’, Journal of

Business Ethics 87 (Suppl. 1), 71-89.

Maon, F., Lindgreen, A., and Swaen, V.: 2010, ‘Organizational Stages and Cultural Phases: A

Critical Review and a Consolidative Model of Corporate Social Responsibility

Development’, International Journal of Management Reviews 12 (1), 20-38.

Matthyssens, P. and Vandenbempt, K.: 2003, ‘Cognition-in-Context: Reorienting Research in

Business Market Strategy’, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing 18 (6/7), 595-606.

Meyer, J.W., and Rowen, B.: 1977, ‘Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth

and Ceremony’, American Journal of Sociology 38, 340-363

Paine, L.S.: 1994, ‘Managing for Organizational Integrity’, Harvard Business Review, (March–

April), 106-117.

Pedersen, E.R. and Neergaard, P.: 2008, ‘From Periphery to Centre: How CSR Is Integrated in

Mainstream Performance Management Frameworks’, Measuring Business Excellence 12 (10),

4-12.

Pepermans, R., Vloeberghs, D., and Perkisas, B.: 2002, ‘High Potential Identification

Policies: An Empirical Study among Belgian Companies’, Journal of Management

Development 22 (8), 660-678.

Placet, M., Anderson, R., and Fowler, K.M.: 2005, ‘Strategies for Sustainability’, Research

Technology Management 48 (5), 32-41.


37

Porter, M.E. and Kramer, M.R.: 2006, ‘Strategy and Society: The Link between Competitive

Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility’, Harvard Business Review 84 (12), 78-

94.

Randel, A.E.: 2002, ‘The Maintenance of an Organization’s Socially Responsible Practice: A

Cross-Level Framework’, Business and Society 41 (1), 61-83

Rausch, E., Sherman, H., and Washbush, J. B.: 2001, ‘Defining and Assessing Competencies

for Competency-Based, Outcome-Focused Management Development’, Journal of

Management Development 21 (3), 184-200.

Sociaal Economische Raad (SER): 2000, De Winst van Waarden, Den Haag.

Strauss, A. and Corbin, J.: 1998, Basics of Qualitative Research, 2nd ed. (Sage, Newbury Park,

CA).

Thomas, A.S., and Simerly, R.L.: 1994, ‘The Chief Executive Officer and Corporate Social

Performance: An Interdisciplinary Examination’, Journal of Business Ethics 13, 959 – 968.

Van Marrewijk, M. and Werre, M.: 2003, ‘Multiple Levels of Corporate Sustainability’, Journal

of Business Ethics 44, 107 – 119.

Vos, J.F.J.: 2003, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and the Identification of Stakeholders’,

Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 10 (3), 141-152.

Waldman, D.A., and Siegal, D.: 2008, ‘Defining the Socially Responsible Leader’, The

Leadership Quarterly 19, 117-131

Werre, M.: 2003. ‘Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility: The Chiquita Case’,

Journal of Business Ethics 44 (2/3), 247-260.

Weaver, G.R Trevino. L.K., and Cochran, P.L.: 1999, ‘Integrated and Decoupled Corporate

Social Performance: Management Commitments, External Pressures, and Corporate

Ethics Practices’, Academy of Management Journal 42 (5), 539-552

Yin, R.K.: 1994. Case study research: Design and methods, 2nd ed. (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA).


38

Table 1: CSR Levels of CSR Integration

Dunphy et

al. (2005)

Core

Elements

Van

Marrewijk

and Werre,

(2003)

Core

Elements

Rejection

Company exists for profit;

employees, society, &

environment exploited; opposes

CSR rules / regulations

Non-

responsive

Lacks awareness and ignorant of

CSR, not actively militant

against CSR, profit focused

Pre-CSR

No CSR ambition, may have some

CSR if forced by regulations

Complianc

e

Reactive minimal compliance

with rules/ regulations Compliance-

Driven CSR

CSR as duty/obligation, the correct

behavior. Benefits society/charity to

regulations.

Efficiency

See CSR “advantages,” change

HRM & environmental policies

to reduce cost, increase

efficiency

Profit-Driven

CSR

Business case determines CSR

integration & decision-making

influence: bottom line criteria

Strategic

proactivity

Determines strategy, provides

competitive edge, facilitates

long-term profitability Caring CSR

Balances social, economic,

environmental, beyond compliance &

profit maximization, intrinsically

accepts CSR

Synergistic

CSR

Balances functional solutions to

create value in economic, social &

environmental dimensions,

facilitating win-win approach with

stakeholders, recognized as the

unavoidable direction for progress

The

sustainable

corporation

Internalized idea of a sustainable

world: strong financial returns,

actively & voluntarily promotes

CSR, global ecological viability,

equitable society & human

fulfillment

Holistic CSR

CSR fully integrated & embedded,

contributes to the life of every being

& entity now & in the future, all

beings and phenomena mutually

interdependent, sustainability is the

only future, each person &

organization universally responsible


39

Table 2: Stages of CSR Implementation

Stages of CSR

Implementation

Explanation

1) Conduct ‘zero-

assessment’

Identify current CSR practice (Cramer et al., 2004; Maignan et

al., 2005)

2) Develop CSR goals

within the organization’s

mission, vision, and strategy

Identify what the organization wants to achieve and how to

achieve it (Doppelt, 2003; Lyon, 2004; Werre, 2003).

3) Gain top management

support

Senior managers determine strategy and without their support

become critical barriers to CSR implementation (Doppelt, 2003;

Werre, 2003).

4) Gain employee support to

ensure they own CSR as

part of their work life

activities

Requires involvement of a cross-section of employees in zero

assessment, and effective communication of CSR mission and

vision; reinforced though training (Cramer et al., 2004, 2006;

Maignan et al., 2005; Werre, 2003)

5) Gain support from

external stakeholders

Groups affected by the organization or which affect the

organization, for example, suppliers, distributors, and wider

community. Selecting organizations with similar CSR believes

consolidates the re-orientation of the business (Castka et al.,

2004; Cramer et al., 2004; Maignan et al., 2005)

6) Prioritize change effort

and focus on achieving it

An acknowledgment of how the change implementation requires

the application of finite management and other resources

(Doppelt, 2003)

7) Measure progress and

fine-tune the process

CSR implementation is an iterative approach (Cramer et al.,

2004; Porter and Kramer, 2006)

8) Anchor change Ensuring the organization’s activities results in mutual benefits

for it and the society it operates in (Porter and Kramer, 2006;

Werre, 2003)

9) Reorder the

implementation system

Reflects continuous nature of the process where stages may

occur simultaneously, shaped by the situation faced by the

organization (Doppelt, 2003)


40

Table 3: Differences and Similarities between Regular and Sustainable Competences

Regular

Competences

Sustainable

Competences

Differences Leadership

Cox and Cooper (1988); Derr et al.

(1988); Jones and Spooner (2000);

Pepermans et al. (2003); Rausch et

al. (2001);

Self-management

and self-learning

Kelle

rma

n (2

006

); Maa

k a

nd

Ple

ss

, 200

6).

Analytic and

problem-solving

skills

Cox and Cooper (1988);


al. (2001)

Being a responsible

person

Ability to

organize and

manage

Derr et al. (1988); Jones and

Spooner (2000); Rausch et al.

(2001);

Trust and integrity

Independence and

autonomy


Gritzmacher (1989); Jones and

Spooner (2000)

Coaching

Improvement and

innovation


Pepermans et al. (2003); Facilitating change

Similarities Self confidence

and awareness



al. (2001);

Self-awareness and

self-motivation

Communication

and social skills

Derr et al. (1988); Pepermans et al.

(2003); Rausch et al. (2001) Communicate

vision and mission

Creativity and

flexibility

Gritzmacher (1989); Pepermans et

al. (2003) Creativity

Team work and

team building, as

well as social

awareness


Pepermans et al. (2003);

Gritzmacher (1989) Rausch et al.

(2001)

Relationship

management and

building and

teamwork


41

Table 4: Regular and CSR High Potential Competencies

Competence Number of Organizations Citing

Competency

Create vision and strategy 3

Integrity, compliance, trust, and honesty 8

Focus on customer / excellent service 7

Leadership 6

Facilitating change 2

Entrepreneurship 3

Respect 3

Professionalism 3

Courage 1

Risk taking and management 2

Commercial drive 4

Result focus 3

Ambition 3

Effective management 2

Proactive 2

Problem solving 1

Learning capacity 3

Innovation and creativity 2

Autonomy 1

Initiative 1

Coaching 1

Openness or social awareness 3

Responsibility in relationships and teamwork 7

Planning 1

Communication 2

Self awareness 1

Self management 1

Social skills 1

Notes: Shaded rows are those the organizations identified as related to CSR.


42

Table 5: Identified Stages of CSR Implementation Used by Sampled Organizations

Stages of CSR Implementation Notes

1) Conduct zero-assessment

One organization used a team of young starters to identify

the level of CSR activity and then act as CSR ambassadors

to strengthen CSR engagement

2) Develop CSR goals in

organization’s mission, vision,

and strategy

All nine organizations have a CSR strategy through which

they define their activities (see the Appendix)

3) Gain top management support Two organizations had proactive senior management

support; the remaining were seeking to strengthen it

4) Gain employee support to

ensure they own CSR as part of

their work life activities

All organizations were active in achieving employee

support through a range of initiatives. The extent to which

it had become universally accepted was difficult to gauge,

and the task was considered relatively large, requiring time

5) Gain support from external

stakeholders

All organizations sought stakeholder support, three focused

especially on the issues of stakeholders and stakeholder

management, and one organized an extensive stakeholder

dialogue

6) Prioritize change effort and

focus on achieving it

A range of CSR-related areas were covered, linked to each

organization’s core business processes. Three focused on

the people part of CSR, and three on community

investment projects. One had yet to define the themes

the role of ‘high potentials’ in integrating and ...orca.cf.ac.uk/33721/1/article 55.pdf · in...

Documents